Excerpts from Dharampalji's book Indian Science and Technology in the 18th Century (1971)
After reading the above excerpts, it is natural to wonder how our ancestors could achieve all this without access to libraries, computers, and other sophisticated equipment. It is also natural to reflect on the present situation in India, which is quite different. Most of the research work in the leading Indian institutions is motivated by ideas and problems generated in Western countries. In most fields, we have become followers rather than leaders. Why have the springs of creativity dried up? Is it because the present educational system stifles the spirit of enquiry? Is it because a large proportion of the people engaged in teaching and research do not really enjoy their vocation? Is it because the hustle and bustle of modern living, with its attendant insecurities, deadlines, and distractions provide little time for contemplation? Is it because centuries of indigenous knowledge about various procedures and processes were abandoned, over a relatively short period, in favour of the current scientific approach? Is it because our ancestors observed nature more keenly than we do nowadays? As a hymn from the Rig Veda puts it: "Who knows for certain? Who shall here declare it?"
Fig. 1 The Observatory at Benares (reproduced from Barker, 1777, with permission from the Royal Society of London).
Acknowledgement: I am very grateful to Shri Dharampal for permitting me to reproduce excerpts from his book, and the Royal Society of London for permission to reproduce Fig. 1 from Barker (1777). The first part of the title is taken from a book entitled "The Wonder that was India" by A.L. Basham, Picador, London (2004). The introduction and section 1.1 were published in the Asian Journal of Professional Ethics and Management 10 (2018) 5-8.
References :
Barker, R., The process of making ice in the East Indies, Phil. Trans.65 (1775) 252-257.
Barker, R., An account of the Bramin's observatory at Benares, Phil. Trans., Roy. Soc. London, 67 (1777) 598-607.
Burrow, R., A proof that the Hindoos had the binomial theorem, Asiatic Researches, II (1790), 487-497.
Burton, D.M., The History of Mathematics, Allyn and Bacon, 1985.
Coult, Ro., An account of the diseases of Bengall (letter from Ro.Coult to Dr.Oliver
Coult, 10 February 1731). It is on ff.271v-272r in Add.MS.4432 among the Royal Society papers in the British Museum.
Franklin, J., The mode of manufacturing of iron in central India, 1835, India Office
Library, MS EUR D154.
Heyne, B., Tracts on India, 1814, p.363.
Holwell, J.Z., An account of the manner of inoculation for the smallpox in the East Indies, Report addressed to the President and Members of the College of Physicians in London, 1767.
Majumdar, R., Raychaudhuri, H.C., and Datta, K., 1967 An Advanced History of India, 3rd ed., p.564.
Mushet, D. Experiments on Wootz or Indian steel, British Museum 727 k.3, 65-662.
Scott, H., Aspects of technology in Western India (Extracts from letters sent by Dr.Scott to Sir J.Banks, President, Royal Society of London, 1790-1801). Add MS 33979 (ff 1-13; 127-130; 135-6; 233-6); Add MS 33980 (ff 305-310) and Add MS 35262 (ff 14-5) in the British Museum.
Pearson, G., Experiments and observations to investigate the nature of a kind of steel, manufactured at Bombay, and there called Wootz; with remarks on the properties and composition of different states of iron, Phil. Trans, 85 (1795) 322-346.
Playfair, J. 1790 Remarks on the astronomy of the Brahmins. Trans. Roy. Soc.
Edinburgh, II (1790), part I, 135-192.
Walker, A. (ca.1820), Indian agriculture. Walker of Bowland papers, National Library of Scotland, 184a.3, 577-654.
Burton, D.M., The History of Mathematics, Allyn and Bacon, 1985.
Coult, Ro., An account of the diseases of Bengall (letter from Ro.Coult to Dr.Oliver
Coult, 10 February 1731). It is on ff.271v-272r in Add.MS.4432 among the Royal Society papers in the British Museum.
Franklin, J., The mode of manufacturing of iron in central India, 1835, India Office
Library, MS EUR D154.
Heyne, B., Tracts on India, 1814, p.363.
Holwell, J.Z., An account of the manner of inoculation for the smallpox in the East Indies, Report addressed to the President and Members of the College of Physicians in London, 1767.
Majumdar, R., Raychaudhuri, H.C., and Datta, K., 1967 An Advanced History of India, 3rd ed., p.564.
Mushet, D. Experiments on Wootz or Indian steel, British Museum 727 k.3, 65-662.
Scott, H., Aspects of technology in Western India (Extracts from letters sent by Dr.Scott to Sir J.Banks, President, Royal Society of London, 1790-1801). Add MS 33979 (ff 1-13; 127-130; 135-6; 233-6); Add MS 33980 (ff 305-310) and Add MS 35262 (ff 14-5) in the British Museum.
Pearson, G., Experiments and observations to investigate the nature of a kind of steel, manufactured at Bombay, and there called Wootz; with remarks on the properties and composition of different states of iron, Phil. Trans, 85 (1795) 322-346.
Playfair, J. 1790 Remarks on the astronomy of the Brahmins. Trans. Roy. Soc.
Edinburgh, II (1790), part I, 135-192.
Walker, A. (ca.1820), Indian agriculture. Walker of Bowland papers, National Library of Scotland, 184a.3, 577-654.
By K. Kesava Rao
Department of Chemical Engineering
Indian Institute of Science
Bengaluru 560012, India
kesava@iisc.ac.in
Department of Chemical Engineering
Indian Institute of Science
Bengaluru 560012, India
kesava@iisc.ac.in
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